CHICAGO – June 10, 2011. Governor Pat Quinn today announced that his request for federal assistance to help local governments in 21 Southern Illinois counties recover from major flooding and severe storms has been approved. The federal declaration means state and local governments can seek reimbursement for 75 percent of their eligible expenses related to flooding and storms that hit the region in late April and early May.

“This assistance is an important step on the road to recovery.” said Governor Quinn. “We are going to continue doing all we can to help those impacted by flooding to rebuild and recover.”

In late May, representatives from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) met with local government representatives in nearly two dozen counties to review flood and storm-related expense information, including costs for emergency protective measures, debris removal and repair or replacement of governmental-owned facilities.

Documentation from that review, which estimated costs to state and local governments at more than $20 million, was provided to FEMA with Governor Quinn’s request for assistance.

“We will work closely with FEMA to help expedite reimbursement to these local governments,” said IEMA Director Jonathon Monken.

Governor Quinn also was successful in securing federal assistance to help people and businesses in 14 Southern Illinois counties recover from flooding and severe storms. Since that federal declaration was approved on June 7, approximately 1,000 people have applied for federal assistance, which includes grants and low-interest SBA loans. In addition, affected businesses are also eligible to apply for low-interest SBA loans.